The present invention relates to collection containers and, in particular, to a bag including a glove portion that can be fitted to the hand and that is located adjacent an opening to a container portion to permit gripping, depositing and sealing items in the bag.
A variety of sanitary collection devices have been developed to facilitate the collection of different materials and items while avoiding physical contact. Plastic and elastomer gloves are commonly used in the food service, health and hair care industries, to name a few, to protect the hands and handled materials from mutual contamination. The gloves are constructed to be low cost and disposable and are frequently packaged individually or in rolls for easy access. Various finger arrangements can be provided at the gloves. The gloves permit full use of the hands to perform desired tasks and provide a full range of gripping. After each procedure, the gloves are discarded.
Numerous collection devices have also been developed for collecting animal feces that variously support a disposable container to permit an individual to collect and dispose of animal feces in a sanitary manner. Some of the assemblies include handles or a hand operated linkages that support a collection container, for example, a plastic or paper bag or box. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,977,715; 4,047,746; 4,103,952; 4,136,900; 4,138,153; 4,154,389; 4,205,869; 4,335,678; 4,718,707; 4,875,729; 5,403,050; 5,511,682; 5,540,469; 5,586,521; and 5,620,220 disclose various devices which use a collection bag.
Some collection devices include specially formed bags or are organized in kits and include hardened scoops. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,978,540; 4,186,955; 4,230,354; and 4,252,356 disclose bags with rigid portions that aid in the scooping or scraping of waste into the bag.
Disposal assemblies for animal feces also exist that utilize a glove. U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,251 provides an internal padded glove that cooperates with a disposable glove. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,788,733 and 4,836,594 disclose other glove bag combinations wherein a discrete glove is secured to a detachable container or the glove can be inverted and used as the container.
Although all of the foregoing devices collect and facilitate disposal of animal feces, applicant believes a glove arrangement provides the greatest flexibility and dexterity in collecting animal feces. A gloved assembly is also readily adapted to varieties of industries and applications where items are being collected and packaged and contamination is an issue. The present invention was therefore developed to provide a bag having a wall of a storage space or container portion fitted with a multi-finger glove or mitten that can access the storage space. The glove is positioned adjacent an opening to the storage space and can be manipulated, inverted or withdrawn into the storage space to deposit feces or collected materials into the storage space. The edges of the glove and open end of the bag may also be constructed with hardened edges to facilitate collection and sealing of collected materials in the bag.